10 Nov What is next for Bibiano Fernandes after ONE: Heart of A Lion defeat

ONE Championship’s longest reigning champion Bibiano Fernandes’s run has surprising come to an end.

This afternoon the now former champion took on Interim bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon for the second time to once again determine who the true unified champion is. The fight took place at the Indoor Arena in Singapore. The show they both put on for the fans was phenomenal, going all five rounds.

Kevin Belingon, a man who couldn’t withstand a round with Fenandes in their last meeting where he lost the title fight by reason of a first-round submission in January 2016, looked superb as he was able to land several hard and breath-taking spinning back kicks throughout the 25-minute, five round contests.

Bibiano, however, managed to secure a few takedowns throughout the bout taking the fight where he seems most comfortable and got him the victory last time advanced into some tight fight endings which unfortunately become unsuccessful. He would later proceed to transition his way into full mount late into the third round and fire off some big shots down on “The Silencer”.

Despite the big strikes Belingon would once again find himself back on the feet and would go on to drop “The Flash” with a thunderous right hand. Once Bibiano re-focussed and got himself back up Kevin would go on to land several low kicks in the fifth round. In opposition to Bibiano attempting to peruse yet again another takedown coming up just too short.

Come the post-fight interview, the new reigning ONE bantamweight champion stated that his plan was to in fact finish Bibiano. During which time the Brazilian had thought he did enough to win the fight and to walk out with the belt still wrapped around his waist. However, this was not reality of what previously happened.

So, the question that many will now be asking is what’s next for the former champion? Well, the 38-year old Bibiano Fernandes stated previously that if a super fight with new signing and lightweight contender Eddie Alvarez was offered he would not say no. Although that looks like it’ll no longer be happening so what about a fight against top contender and rematch Martin Nguyen.

What are your thoughts on the whole ONE: Heart of A Lion Card & who would you like to see the former champion Bibiano Fernandes fight next?